1. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Trailer (2003)
CAMERAWORK
In the trailer for ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ there are various shots used.
These shots help to build the narrative of the story as well as displaying tension.
The first shot is an establishing shot of the
setting. As you can see there is a camper van
going into the distance of what seems a
placesuch as the countryside which seems
quiet, peaceful and happy. This shot aids the
equilibrium of the trailer until everything goes
bad. This type of shot shows the equilibrium to
bea conventional form for the horror genre.
In the first part to the trailer where the
equilibrium is created the characters seem to be
happy and having fun. This is shown through
various couples cuddling and kissing which
signifiesthat they are in love. And this connotes
to them being happy and therefore creates a
cheerful and high-spirited atmospherethat
relates to them being happy and excited about
going on a road trip/holiday. The fact that one of
the shots is a close up portrays their facial
emotions more closely which shows them tobe
deeply in love. However, the mid shot portrays
the couple to be quite seductive and naughty due
to the boy grabbing the girl’s leg over his body.
This displays the stereotypical representation of
teenage males nowadays. This shot also portrays
sex appeal due to the girl wearing a short skirt in
which teenage boys will be fascinated by.
The equilibrium comes to a hold when they
arrive in Texas and the camper van stops when
they see a girl walking alone. The composition of
the wide shot works really well here because it
shows the girl alone in contrast to the group of
teenagers. This shot makes the girl seem a little
odd and eerie in which the teenagers should be
cautious of.
Establishing shot of the setting
Mid/Close up shot of boy and girl kissing
Wide shot of camper van and girl

2. The same girl is shown to be in the camper van
with the group of friends. A close up of her face
is shown here to represent her fear. The girl’s
fear is represented through her tears and
running nose showing that she is crying. At this
point diagetic is sound is added when she says:
‘they’re all dead’ which engages the audience
and the other characters. This is where the
young naive teenagers go to investigate. The fact
there have been deaths is a horror movie genre
convention.
Part way through the trailer there is an
establishing shot of the place where the
teenagers adventure to and therefore where the
film is set. The film is set in an old mansion-type
of house which is a genre convention of the
horror genre. This shot is dark and gloomy
which represents something bad is bound to
happen.
At the point where the girl ventures into the
house she hears a noise and immediately there is
a close-up of her face. This is to show that she
has been shocked by something and looks
slightly confused due to the way her eyes are
looking upwards as though she is looking for
something. Also her facial expressions shown in
this close up represent her as worried and
scared to what may happen next, due to the open
mouth.
This low angle shot of the police officer shows
his dominance and power over the young girl
who is on the floor. By using a low angle shot is
shows the officer to look down upon the girl and
makes the officer look bigger and therefore
more powerful than he perhaps may be.
Close up shot of girl to show emotions
Close up shot of girl to show emotions
Establishing shot of the setting
Low angle shot of Police Officer

3. EDITING
In the trailer for ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ a variety of editing techniques have
been used. Editing is used to make the overall trailer look much better and to add
tension and suspense throughout.
Inside the house there is a sequence of shots
which fade to white after about two seconds.
For example, this two-shot of the boy and girl
fades to white to add tension to the trailer,
because it puts a sense of mystery to the trailer
as we don’t know what happens beyond the
whiteness. This fading to whiteness also
happens to interpret a camera capturing
images of the people so they can not get away
due to a previous image of a camera lense.Also
this is a mid-close up shot to show the fear of
the boy and the girl through screaming due to their
facial expressions.
However, outside the house there is a series of
shots which fade to black after about one
second. This works in contrast to the shots
indoors which lighten. Darkness suggests that
something gloomy and sinister is going to
happen. The darkness occurs quickly as the
shots have been edited together with a fast-
pace. The fact that there is a creepy weird doll
face relates to the genre conventions of horror
film. The darken fade out is a form convention
for horror movie trailers as darkness represents
sinister and gloominess.
Fast-pace cutting is used part way through the
trailer when the disequilibrium and suspense
is taking place. This cutting adds to the panic of
what is happening in the trailer. For example;
the cutting adds to the tension of the boy
running away from the chainsaw as this would
be a very. The panic and fright the cutting
creates can relate to the audience being
frightened also.
Two-shot lighten fade out
Close-up darken fade out
Fast-cut editing

4. The trailer also consists of text-on-screen near
the beginning of the trailer in order to break up
parts of the various clips. This is used to give the
viewer a more in depth background to the film,
in this case it gives the exact date and it gives the
exact place too. The background is black which
suggests something sinister is foreshadowed.
Along with this, the writing is in white which is
in a high contrast to the black which makes is
stand out. The text style is written in a form of a
typewriter which suggest the video clip is a real
documentation. Also the typewriter suggests that
it has been written in the past which relates to
the first ever film of ‘The Texas Chainsaw
Massacre’ which was created in 1974. Text-on-
screen is presented on most horror trailers
suggesting that it is a conventional element of the
form of horror trailers.
The title sequence in this trailer is in a
chrome/silver colour which stands out on the
gloomy black background. The black represents
evil and sinister. Also the font style is in serif font
style which signifies the gothic genre and
therefore connotes that the film is a horror film.
MIS-EN-SCENE
In the trailer for ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ mis-en-scene has been used to
help create a more effective film trailer. The trailer uses, setting, lighting,
costume and props to do this.
At the beginning of the trailer where the equilibrium
takes place the lighting is high-key. This suggests
that the spirits of the characters are also high
suggesting that there is a happy atmosphere being
created. Also the lighting is in high-key because it is
daylight.
Text-on-screen
Title Sequence of Film
High-key lighting

5. In the part of the trailer where all the tension and
suspense is created; where the disequilibrium
takes place, the lighting is low-key. This is because
tension is built up throughout in order for
something sinister to occur. Here, the low-key
lighting is also used through the use of pathetic
fallacy, where the rainy, dark weather represents
the mood as being dull and gloomy because of the
action which is taking place.
Within the trailer, there is one main prop which is
used to kill and that is in fact the chainsaw. The
chainsaw prop suggests violence and aggression.
By the slasher/killer having an aggressive weapon,
it is a conventional element for the horror film
trailer.
The trailer is set in Texas, which is shown through
text-on-screen and the title of the film. However,
the house in which the group of friends end up at
seems to be in the middle of nowhere. For
example, this shot has nothing in view apart from
the house, suggesting it is set in the middle of
nowhere. This is conventional of the horror film
genre.
Inside the house there is a long wide shot of the
girl which shows her costume. The clothing she is
wearing is just a basic vest top and a pair of jeans.
This shows that she is a regular teenage girl due to
the average clothes in which she wears. They are
the types of clothes which every teenage girl owns
which means the audience of teenage girls can
Low-key lighting
The chainsaw (prop)
Derelict Setting
Wide-Long shot to show Costume

6. relate to the character. By dressing the girl as an average teenage girl is a horror
genre convention in films.
The boys in the trailer are also wearing
everyday, casual clothes, such as vests, t-shirts,
jackets and caps. This allows teenage boys to
relate to the characters in the film because they
will believe they are no different from them due
to the casual clothes being worn. The fact the
characters are dressed to be average teenage
boys is a genre convention of horror films.
SOUND
In the trailer for ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ both diagetic and non diagetic
sound has been used. Sound has been used in the trailer to enhance the
audience’s experience.
The trailer starts off with a non-diagetic sound track which includes a soft and
soothing tone. This represents the mood of the trailer as being calm and happy
which therefore shows that the equilibrium is created.
This equilibrium is then disrupted when the group of friends come across a
lonely girl and she speaks through using dialogue. The girl says: ‘They’re all dead’
which changes the mood completely and in fact seems to come as a shock to the
group of friends.
After this a sound effect of heart-beating has been used when the friends get to
the house at the same time as various weird things are being shown on screen.
This adds tension because the constant deep beating sounds as though the
characters’ hearts are beating because they are panicing and therefore scared.
After this, one of the male characters says: ‘I’m gonna have to call the cops I
guess’. This immediately suggests that something is wrong and therefore
something sinister is about to be shown on screen.
When the girl goes inside of the house, she seems to be searching for something.
This is where a sound effect, has been added in to the clip to enhance the sound
of a slamming door. This makes the girl jump and therefore presents the trailer
as jumpy through the use of the sound. This is a conventional element for the
horror genre.
Other banging, swooshing and squeaking sound effects have been used to
represent the unknown. This makes the characters panic as the tension is
created. However, these types of sound effects are prevalent in all types of
horror movie which suggests that they are conventional for the genre.
Close-up shot to show Costume

7. When some of the shots fade out to white within the trailer, the transition is
made to look like a camera effect. This is due to a camera capturing/zoom noise
being added into the trailer at the same time. This could conote that the
killer/slasher is able to watch everyone so that he can catch them.
After this, the screen goes black but the diagetic sound can still be heard as it
follows on from the previous scene. This is where running foot steps, panting
and screaming effects are used to suggest that the girl is running due to heavy
footsteps and breathing and the screaming therefore suggests that she is scared
and therefore in panic.
Also, the sound of the chainsaw is enhanced through the use of a sound-effect.
This sound effect is much louder and therefore makes the weapon seem much
more sinister. Sound effects are usually added into trailers and films to enhance
the aggression of weapons which is suggested as a genre convention for horror
movies.
Where the disequilibrium takes place (towards the end of the trailer) there is
non-diagetic sound added. This is up-beat with a fast tempo and makes the
running and all of the other action seem of a faster pace than it actually is. This
music helps to create the tension of a frightening mood and atmosphere within
the trailer.
CONVENTIONS
The trailer of ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ uses both genre conventions and
form conventions of horror films.
Conventions of genre:
The trailer is set in the middle of nowhere in an isolated derelict mansion which
is a conventional setting in which most horror films take place. Along with this,
the movie starts off with a road trip of a group of teenagers which presents an
equilibrium. Teenagers in horror movies is conventional to the genre, and the
fact they are going on road-trip makes the film much more conventional tothe
horror genre. This is because it allows everything to descend from happiness
into gloominess. The low-key lighting and therefore the dark scenes are also
conventional to horror films as it represents sinister and gloom.
Conventions of form:
The trailer consists of a lot of diagetic and non-diagetic sound which is
conventional of the horror trailer. These sounds often add emphasis onto the
action which is being displayed which can then create further understanding of
the narrative. Along with this, fading out to black is used frequently in film
trailers because the black suggest something evil and sinister. Also, text on
screen is conventional to horror movie trailers as it give the audience some
background knowledge on the film, and often the text style gives away
something relevant to the genre.

8. NARRATIVE
The narrative of the trailer is put together through the use of the four technical
areas which are, camerawork, editing, mis-en-scene and sound. As well as this,
conventions of genre and form have been used in order to make the trailer much
more effective.
The narrative of the trailer is that there is a group of mixed-gender teenagers
who are setting off on a road trip/holiday. The atmosphere created at this point
is happy and up-beat which is shown by the singing, smiles and kissing which is
occurring. The group of friends come across a lonely girl and ask her if she is
okay. After this, the girl ends up in the camper van with all the friends and tells
them about her friends being dead. This engages the naïve teenagers into
wanting to find out more. So this leads to them going to the old mansion which is
set in the middle of nowhere. This place is extemely eerie as constantly they hear
noises etc before the face of the massacre is revealed. This results in a change of
mood and leads to all of the friends being shook up by the attack on them which
is about to occur. Immediately after this we see running, screaming, shouting and
the slashing noise of the chainsaw which is where the disequilibrium takes palce.
After this fast-pace cutting has occurred, we come to an end of the trailer which
leaves the audience hanging and intrigued to see the film.